This Is What Makes Us Girls
by CityGirl13
Summary: Who did she think she was? Tossing her perfect hair, flashing her perfect teeth, her perfect eyes sparkling. What did she know of him? She understood nothing, unlike me. And yet somehow, I wasn't the one standing by him, she was.


"_This is what makes us girls  
We all look for heaven and we put out love first  
Something that we die for it's our curse  
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it.  
This is what makes us girls  
We don't stick together cause we put our love first  
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him  
It's all gonna happen."_

**So mere hours after 'If I Die Young' and I have this out… hope those of you who cried out for more Clato like this one too! Different style, more my usual, enjoy :)**

This Is What Makes Us Girls

I glared the length of the Training room, and I think my glare his as right on as any of my throwing knives, because for just a moment he looked like he was about to turn. But then _she _put a hand on his arm lightly, tossing back her head and laughing, and he laughed with her, as if anything witty could ever come out of her mouth. It was disgusting to watch, had he no idea how ridiculous he looked? And her, well what did I expect? District 1, she was your stereotypical girl from there. Perfect blonde hair, perfect white teeth, perfect pale skin, perfect hourglass figure, perfect green eyes. Glimmer, she just exuded perfection of the Capitol kind.

Me? What did I have? Short, pale and freckled, pain black hair, and grey eyes. Ordinarily I was the sort of person you'd over look in a crowd, but thankfully my training had given me something extra, something that _Glimmer_ for all her perfection didn't have. No one would dare overlook me, for the moment they did, I'd have a knife in them. One person liked to make a habit out of it though, just to annoy me. My lovely District partner, Cato.

"Clove, are you ready?"

I focused back on the trainer, hovering just outside of the knife throwing range, and a cold smirk twisted my lips. I didn't reply verbally, just started grabbing knives from the belt around my wait and flicking them at the targets. They ran out all too quickly though, and I only had two left, stuck in sheaths just behind my shoulders. Every single one of my knives was at the heart or brain of one of the human dummies, and I knew just what I wanted to do with the final two.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I let my focus drift out to my targets, and drew the knives. With a synchronised THUNCK they stuck out from the hilts of two knives already embedded in hearts, and they stood there quivering.

"Nice work," the trainer praised, "I've scare seen better, even from your District."

A thankless smile was all I flashed him, before exiting the range. He didn't need to know that during my final two throws I had envisioned hitting the two lovebirds right where they'd feel it most. Well, he probably thought I would be envisioning some Tribute or other, but hardly my 'allies'.

"Hey Clove, good throwing."

I stood still and let rage wash over me for a moment jut at _hearing_ that voice, god she was annoying. But I turned, and faced Glimmer with a smirk, "Thanks, I've seen you at a few stations, but only ever performing at an average. I guess you're just hiding your talent, can't wait to see it in the Games."

"There's a lot of talent I have going for me, I just chose a select audience," she replied; letting her green gaze drift over to where Cato had started working with his sword.

"Wow, I didn't know that District 1 also supplied whores," I snapped.

"Your jealousy is cute," she drawled coolly, "I mean, I can totally see that you're into him, but he's hardly looking at your twice. Bet that cuts."

"You know what else cuts? A throwing knife, funny how that just so happens to be my skill," I retorted; glaring at her with a steel grey gaze.

"Are you threatening _me?_" she demanded, "We're in an alliance you know."

"Only one victor," I reminded her sweetly, "And all alliances have to break apart sometime. What are you going to do then?"

A wry smile twisted her mouth, "Oh, I'll have protection."

"Protection?" I repeated hotly; starting forwards, "What the hell are you doing in the Games if you need that?"

"Not all of us girls need to pick up a weapon to win," Glimmer said, "Well, at least not the killing kind of weapon, if you know what I mean."

Her gaze flicked to behind me, and a sultry smile curved her lips. I suppressed a growl, there would only be one person she'd give that smile to. I tensed when I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Ladies, save the cat fighting for the Arena," he teased.

Glimmer giggled, "Sure thing, Cato."

She may be laughing, but I saw her eyes land on his hand upon my shoulder, and a tightness appeared in the corners of her eyes. What was she worried about? Did she think that hand meant something? Oh she was such a _girl_ reading way to deep into every single sign. If I ever did that, I'd think that Cato was half in love with me. Not a thought I want if I'm going to have to face the chance of killing him in the Arena, I tried to ignore how the prospect of that made me slightly nauseous.

"Clove?" he prompted.

He tore out from under his grip, "You don't tell me what to do."

I stormed away before he could say anything, if in fact he had even been planning on it. My plan was to get away quickly, but I didn't' get away quick enough to miss his deep laugh at some high pitched comment of Glimmer's. Undoubtedly about me, and undoubtedly something he'd use to make fun of me later.

**/*0*/**

She really made me sick, just watching her go through her interview, I wanted to find a bucket and throw up in it. But the Capitol lapped it all up, of course they would, she was practically one of them in every way. I was still reeling from her utter lack of personality that I tuned out most of Marvel's speech, not that it would have been interesting anyway. But then it was my turn, and I pulled up my skirts to step up to the stage.

"Clove, welcome," Caesar greeted, "Please, take a seat, and may I say you look quite lovely."

"Thank you," I replied; knowing that 'quite lovely' was nothing compared to the compliments showered upon Glimmer. I tried not to let that bother me, I had _way_ bigger issues, but I'm a teenage girl, what do you expect?

"So, how do you feel about the Games?" he asked, "Nervous? Excited? Scared?"

"I'm excited, I think it's a wonderful opportunity, and I'm proud to represent my District," my answers were so rehearsed I probably could have given them in my sleep.

And then we finally got to the question that he asked every girl tribute over the age of 14, "So, pretty thing like you, who's the lucky man at home?"

"There is none," I was tempted to keep going with _he's here_, but I kept my tongue leashed to replies that were safe, "I'm not really the dating type, I have more important things right now."

"When you get home, they'll be falling all over themselves to have a chance with you," he assured.

Thankfully, the buzzer for time up went, and I escaped.

Later that night though, when I just wanted to be alone on the roof, an all too familiar presence came up behind me.

"Nice dress."

I brushed at the light material of my interview gown, I hadn't bothered to change yet, and leaned my forearms against the railing, "Say the same to _Glimmer?_ Or busy doing other stuff with her?"

"Not the dating type huh?" he asked; completely avoiding my questions altogether, which just made me mad.

"Cato, piss off," I hissed.

"Wow, someone's overjoyed," he said sarcastically; leaning backwards against the railing I had my arms propped up on, tilting his head back almost contentedly. I hoped his head his the forcefield.

"I don't intend it to be, but this could very well turn out to be my last night out in the real world," I snapped, "and I would appreciate not having it ruined by you."

"I was under the impression that Glimmer annoyed you, not me," he drawled.

"You _both_ do," I retorted, "You, you're a Career, and clearly meant to be our leader. Do you have any idea how pathetic you look with her? God, it's as if you two are trying to pull what 12 did tonight."

"Hmm, maybe we _are_ star-crossed lovers," he mused; rolling his head forwards again to look at me.

I stared into his blue eyes, and for a moment the intensity broke me as it always did, then I had my steel shields back in place as I glared at him, "Whatever."

"Clove, c'mon," he grabbed my arm when I moved to leave, "It was a joke, lighten up."

"Well it wasn't funny," he twisted out of his grip, and he let me go. But all the way back to the lifts I could feel his gaze on mine, and only at the last minute did I turn to look back, and the damned boy was _smiling_.

What did he have to smile about? My mind was still asking that question when I threw myself facedown onto my bed. And it wasn't a happy type of smile, it was a smug smile, as if he'd finally figured something out. That unnerved me, in much the same way as his eyes seemed to find a way to look through barriers that normally kept others out. It was as if he could see every part of me, and yet Cato remained as much a mystery to me as the other side of the world.

But hell, with the Games tomorrow, it wasn't like I was going to solve that mystery. Glimmer might though, and the thought gave me angry dreams on my last night.

**/*0*/**

Camping out in the forest wasn't the most comfortable thing in the universe, but it had to be done if we were going to get 12 down from that tree. Clove didn't exactly trust loverboy to be a good watchdog, and her suspicions kept on waking her every half hour or so. Unfortunately whenever this happened, her gaze flicked over to where Cato lay, Glimmer curled up beside him and using his arm for a pillow.

Great, in the middle of the Games and they'd pretty much come out in a relationship, something about that was just wrong. The way she acted, I sometimes wondered if she really was 18 and not 5, but he always laughed. How was it, that someone who was such a polar opposite to him, managed to get so close. And yet me, who understood more than anyone just want he'd been though, we'd been through it together after all, and despite that I was as far away from him as I'd ever been.

Turning over so I wouldn't have to face them, I used my own arm for my pillow, my other hand clutching tightly at a dagger I hoped one day to end Glimmer's life with. Her's or Cato's, right now I wasn't too picky.

The next time I woke up, it wasn't just a natural wake from sleep. There was a great CRASH right close by that made me jerk up, and then buzzing filled the air. I wasn't sure what they were, wasps maybe? But I felt one sting me, and it hurt worse than any other sting I'd had in my life. I tried to fend them off with my jacket, stumbling backwards to get away.

I could hear someone screaming out for help, it was unmistakably Glimmer, and I half expected to hear Cato's bellowing when he tried to reach her. But there was none of that, and it took me a couple of seconds to see why. Cato wasn't making for her, he was coming for me. I hadn't even cried out, but he grabbed my arm and starting making me run along with the others away from the stringing devils. I figured out that they must have been tracker jackers, I mean, after what had just happened it all seemed like a plausible hallucination. And the fact that I was starting to feel weak helped as well.

That all stopped the minute I got plunged into icy water though, I came up spluttering, shaking the hair out of my face to look around at the others. Loverboy was first out of the water, running back the way we'd come, probably to warn his little girlfriend, I knew we couldn't trust him. The rest of us scrambled out too, but in the few seconds it took to get out bearings, I put a hand lightly on Cato's arm, his head whipped around to face me.

"Why?" I asked; putting several different meanings behind that word.

"Because I had to save you," he replied, "You're more than she was."

Those were all the words we had time for before we started running, but they were the words that got me through that day, and several more after.

/*0*/

"Well we killed her," I said; leaning down and pressing a second blade against 12's cheek, "And now, we're going to kill you."

But before I could act, something pulled me back. It was strong enough to be Cato, but I knew it wasn't him.

"You kill her? That little girl?" 11 demanded; slamming me against the Cornucopia.

"No! No, it wasn't me!" I cried; and I felt utter panic, I'd known there was a chance I wouldn't' come out of this alive, but I'd never really thought about it before.

"I heard you say her name!" he yelled.

It had been about a week since the tracker jacker incident, where Cato had come for me and not her. Since then, we'd hardly spoken, but there always seemed to be this great weight of unsaid words between us. I hadn't cried out for his help then, but I needed him now, and I knew he'd come.

"CATO! CATO!" I shrieked.

But then I was dashed against the Cornucopia again, harder this time, and with a sinking feeling I knew that the weight between us was never going to alleviate. We'd never work things out, see what might have been. And with that rule change, we could have made it out of this together. Now we won't, and he'll never know for sure about how I feel, cause I'll never be able to tell him.

I try to summon the voice to say his name one more time, but can barely mange to whisper it softly before I feel myself rushing towards the Cornucopia again. A loud bang and a flash across my eyes was all, my last thought didn't even get finished.

_Cato, I lo-_


End file.
